While we are not all “consultants,” we often find ourselves
playing an advisory role. Whether it is with a boss, a peer, or a
subordinate, sometimes we are asked to think and act as the “expert.”
This raises an interesting question – that is, “can you separate
coaching from consulting?”
Schaffer Consulting’s Holly Newman asks her colleague, Lorne Blackman,
for his thoughts around this question. Thinking through his past 25
years of experience – working with organizations including Providence
Health and Services, ConAgra Foods, Stanford Hospital & Clinics, and
The World Bank – Lorne believes that coaching goes hand and hand with
consulting.
Lorne explains that while there are cases where one can separate
coaching from consulting, the nature of our practice calls for
leveraging skills in both of these domains. Trying to separate them
would produce an artificial divide. As we often spend many years
working with our clients, a strong, advisory relationship typically
develops. This kind of relationship, however, doesn’t just develop on
its own – it takes mindful effort to create it. Lorne has found that
there are five key ingredients necessary to produce a coaching /
consulting dynamic.
- Be Present – Make yourself available to your
client. By meeting with your client face to face, or connecting
regularly over a telephone call, your counterpart will begin to see you
as a partner. Listen to what they have to say, ask good questions,
identify what is important to them – and remember it.
- Trust – By demonstrating that you truly do care and
that you are vested in their success, trust will emerge. You’ll start
hearing your client share stories about their family, their career, and
difficult relationships. Respect their openness and use what you learn
to enable them to achieve their dreams.
- See Your Advisee as a Whole Person – A leader is
not just a leader – they are a friend, a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a
child and so much more. We all play multiple roles at multiple times.
When coaching a client, realize that they go beyond their job title and
are affected by the numerous roles they play. Learning opportunities
surround us in all settings – including at home.
- See Your Advisee in the Context of their Work Environment
– It is important to understand the leader in terms of the organization
they serve and the organizational challenges they face. Lorne refers
to this as “removing the firewall” that some companies build between
coaching and consulting – coaching should happen within the particular
context of the organization and challenges that the leader is facing.
- Leverage What Works – Lorne finds that a focused
approach is best – one where he gets clarity on the organization’s
purpose, what the leader is looking to accomplish, and the broad
principles that govern the company. He then links this to the top few
specific and measurable goals that must be accomplished. While
identifying an organization’s mission, vision, and values is ambiguous,
creating a short list of the goals necessary to achieve desired
performance is not – especially when these goals include a list of the
strategies and tactics designed to achieve them such as organizational
initiatives, WorkOut and Rapid Result projects.